Jarret Fisher continued her strong tournament, improving to 3-0 in singles play.

April 20, 2013

TAMPA, Fla. - DePaul women's tennis saw its BIG EAST Tournament run come to a close on Saturday, dropping a hard-fought match 4-3 against No. 21 and first-seeded Notre Dame at the USF Varsity Courts.

The Blue Demons (14-10) were denied a second-ever trip to the championship match, but nearly pulled off the upset behind a pair of singles wins and two upsets in doubles play. Notre Dame improved to 16-8 overall and advanced to the finals of the tournament with the win.

Ultimately, it all came down to the top spot where 84th-ranked Matea Cutura battled Notre Dame's 39th-ranked Britney Sanders into a third set before falling 3-6, 7-6, 6-1. It was just Cutura's second loss of the season against an ITA-ranked opponent (5-2).

In doubles play, freshman Ana Vladutu and freshman Matea Cutura were winners at the first spot, 8-4, upsetting the 55th-ranked pair of Jennifer Kellner and Chrissie McGaffigan.

Sophomores Patricia Fargas and Jasmin Kling then teamed up at the two to win by the same score against the 67th-ranked duo of Sanders and Julie Sabacinski.

After taking a 1-0 lead in the match, the Blue Demons fell in back-to-back matches to start singles play.

DePaul recovered, however, with wins at the fourth and fifth positions, where Kelsey Lawson and Jarret Fisher remained undefeated in the tournament.

At the five, Fisher moved to 3-0 in singles play with a 6-1, 7-6 decision against Katherine White. Lawson, competing at the four, improved to 2-0 and took care of her opponent, Chrissie McGaffigan, 6-3, 6-4 to give DePaul a 3-2 lead.

Losses at second and first singles, however, allowed Notre Dame to come back and take the match. It was the Blue Demons' fifth-straight appearance in the semifinals.

DePaul will now face Louisville in the third place match tomorrow at 8:00 a.m. CT. It would be the second straight year the two programs faced off in the third-place match, but last year's contest was cancelled due to inclement weather and the teams shared third-place.